Firefighters roll up a hose used to fight the Eaton Fire after a hydrant ran out of water as powerful winds fueling devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area forced people to evacuate in Altadena, California, on Thursday. (Reuters/Fred Greaves)
But a report from The Wall Street Journal unveiled Friday highlighted how LADWP is the only major utility company in California without an intentional shut-off protocol, known as a "Public Safety Power Shut Off" procedure. The protocol lays out plans for how to proactively shut down certain electricity lines during dangerous windstorms and limit the impact to public safety.
"Being prepared for a power shutoff takes careful planning, which begins by designing our water systems the right way and working with local fire agencies and energy companies to ensure community safety," California Water Service, a private utility provider in the state, explains on its website FAQ page about public safety power shutoffs.
OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST-TURNED-FIREFIGHTER BATTLES CALIFORNIA BLAZES AS WILDFIRES CONTINUE TO BURN
"We go to great lengths beyond our standard procedures to ensure water service isn’t disrupted during a power shutoff," the company added. "Cal Water has been installing permanent generators at a number of our critical stations over the years, and we are working to bring in additional, portable generators for other stations. Our crews and employees have also been trained on emergency response procedures for when these widespread shutoffs occur."
Michael Wara, a lawyer who directs the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University and studies wildfire mitigation strategies, added in remarks to the Journal that "there is no need to make any trade-off between reliability and safety."
A firefighter removes a hose from a hydrant that ran out of water while fighting the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, on Thursday. (Reuters/Fred Greaves)
Former Los Angeles firefighter John Knox, who spoke with Fox News on Friday, said he was "surprised" to hear that fire hydrants were running dry, adding that there are "a lot of things that need to be asked by the people to get answers from these so-called leaders."
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"In my career I've never seen us have — every once in a while you might have a dry hydrant, but we do annual testing in January where we test all the fire hydrants and that didn't happen this year," Knox said. "That area has a very large reservoir with four huge tanks that are supposed to be filled at all times. It's my understanding also that they had one of them that's been out for maintenance for a year during peak brush season.
"There's a lot of issues and a lot of things that need to be asked by the people to get answers from these so-called leaders."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-claim-about-empty-hydrants-undermined-la-water-utilitys-lack-common-wildfire-safety-protocol